The Christening of ... George ...

George Alexander Louis, to be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge ...  apparently Alexander is particular favourite of Catherine’s ... or Kate as we know her ...

... born on July 22^nd 2013 at 4.24 pm ... weighing 8lb 6 oz ...

... there has only been one Prince of Cambridge before, a military man with a racy love life, born in 1819 and commemorated with an equestrian statue in Whitehall.

The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the service that had historic overtones being in the presence of our 87 year-old monarch and three future kings, the Princes Charles, William and, of course, little George.

 

The Archbishop to the left, the Bishop of London
to the right

The Bishop of London was also in attendance and it was he who commented that George was holding his hands in a very commanding manner.

Baptism: As the trumpets blared, baby George arrived at the chapel in his father’s arms with his mother by their side ...

The term Chapel Royal refers to a body of priests and singers, part of the Royal Household, to serve the spiritual needs of the Sovereign, as and when required.

 

The two currently used as Chapel Royals are located at St James’s Palace, London – the Chapel Royal and the Queen’s Chapel.

The Chapel Royal is steeped in history ... it was here, in 1588 that Elizabeth I said prayers before the Spanish Armada was attacked ...

... the heart of Mary I of England is buried beneath the choir stalls ... she was ill and died at St James’s Palace in November 1558 and is now known by the soubriquet “Bloody Mary” ...

The Chapel Royal showing its intimacy,
with the Holbein ceiling ... 

... and here that Charles I received Holy Communion before his execution in 1649.

For the Duke and Duchess too the Chapel holds poignant memories.  Catherine was confirmed here, into the Anglican faith, before the royal wedding ...

... and this was where William and Harry said farewell to their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, after her death in 1997.

The Chapel Royal choir, comprising six men and ten boys, bedecked in scarlet and gold-fringed robes ... have been practising for the Christening Service this week ...

The silver-gilt Lily Font

George was christened with water from the River Jordan in a silver baptismal font, known as the Lily Font, made in 1840 for the christening of Queen Victoria’s first child, as it has been used for every royal christening since.

Designers ... Kate wore a cream-coloured Alexander McQueen dress and hat by milliner Jane Taylor; .... the press kept us informed about all the other guests’ outfits!

The Order of the Garter -
 the senior order of the United Kingdom:
showing the Garter "Star" and below
St George the Martyr on horseback
slaying the dragon

England ... George, the dragon slayer, is of course, the patron saint of England, despite having been born far from here ....

Archbishop’s speech will remind George that his role as a future monarch will include acting as a figurehead for Christianity with the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Future Kings ...  It had been 120 years since a reigning monarch had met a future king three generations ahead ... that last happened in 1894 when Queen Victoria was introduced to the baby who would become Edward VIII.

We three males will all kings be ... 

Three kings are now on hold ... but it looks like the future King George will be the first king of the 22^nd century ... some thought – many of us though won’t see him reign ...

George’s name was probably chosen as a tribute to George V, founder of the House of Windsor, who was the Queen’s adored ‘Grand-Père England’ ... George VI was the beloved father in whose image she has shaped so much of her reign (her inscrutability on most things is one of her strengths) ...

... her father who despite those early trials, after his brother’s abdication, went on to become a much admired leader during World War II.

Godparents are a mixture of school, university and family friends, mentor figures, and a royal cousin, Zara, who will be producing a playmate for George in January ... and who has helped Kate overcome her fear of horses.

The fact the godparents are not royal is another indication that this prince is going to be very grounded in normal life.

Anmer village sign

Homes: The new family are likely to spend time in Kensington Palace, at the Middleton’s family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire and Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom Georgian mansion on the Sandringham estate, Norfolk, where the Queen and her family spends Christmas ...

... but as we now know Prince George’s parents have minds of their own and are determined to do things their way, if possible, giving him and his future siblings as much privacy as possible ...

Intimate Christening Service – few invited ... simple ... Prince William showed his single-mindedness and determination when “their guest list” for the wedding did not include any friends they knew ...

... he apparently startled the Royal Family ... by going straight to the Queen to discuss his concerns.  This continues to this day ... as we’ve seen at times ... he does things on his own terms ...

The intimate ceremony without a lot of fuss and bother suited the main royals ... the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles could accomplish all their duties, attend the Christening, have a cup of tea and get on with more duties.

This intimate christening has been the most private royal christening in living memory ...

The Imperial State Crown is one of the Crown Jewels of the UK and symbolises the sovereignty of the monarchy.

The Imperial State Crown

Jubilee Trust: nothing stops the Queen performing her duties ... she did her papers in the morning, received some dignitaries, allocated an hour for the Christening, photos and a quick cup of tea ... and then hosted a Diamond Jubilee Trust reception commencing at 6.00 pm.

Does she ever stop working? ... she sets a fine example of hard work and dedication to her peoples.

 

The Chapel Royal is on the right

St James’s Palace is the most senior royal palace ... and it is for this reason that it gives its name to the Royal Court (the “Court of St James”) – it is the ceremonial gathering place of the “Accession Council” which proclaims a new sovereign.

Foreign Ambassadors are still accredited to the Court of St James’s, even though they are received by the monarch at Buckingham Palace.

Future Kings: Clarence House is next door to St James’s Palace, and is the residence of the Prince of Wales.  While William and Kate, with George, will reside at Kensington Palace on the west side of Hyde Park.

With the Archbishop of Canterbury

Little lad ...  I’ve got no further with my “Ls”!!!

The Royal Mint has created the first ever royal christening coin in the UK to mark Prince George’s baptism.  The limited edition gold “kilo coin” is being sold for £50,000 – but a more affordable “Brilliant Uncirculated” £5 coin costs £13.

The Gold and Silver Uncirculated coins

The £5 coin has been made in both silver – because the crossing of a baby’s palm with silver is said to bring good health and prosperity to newborns – and gold to commemorate the royal celebration.  There are nine items in the range ...

Nicknames: William calls Catherine “Poppet” ... apparently Prince Charles and Camilla have long found it amusing to refer to each other in private as Fred and Gladys ... while Prince Philip apparently calls the Queen Cabbage or Sausage, while she supposedly calls him The Boss ... who knows?!

 

From the Edwardian Promenade
blog ... details of this and
other historical research guides

Names ... Members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style and dignity of HRH Prince or Princess do not need a surname, but if at any time one is needed, such as upon marriage, then that surname is “Mountbatten-Windsor”.

So some royal names have come to define much more than a mere reign.  Georgian architecture, Victorian values, Edwardian grandeur ...

... Charles the Conservator ...

... William the determined ...

... George the gorgeous!

Order of Service included the hymns:

·        Breathe on Me, Breath of God

·        Be Thou My Vision ... this one was sung at the memorial service to mark the 10^th anniversary of the death of Diana

The Lessons were: 

·        St Luke ch. 18, verses 15-17: read by Pippa Middleton, Kate’s sister

·        St John ch. 15, verses 1- 5: read by Prince Harry

The anthems were performed by The Choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal:

·        Blessed Jesu!  Here We Stand (written by Richard Popplewell – for Prince William’s baptism on 4 August 1982)

·        The Lord Bless You and Keep You (by John Rutter)

... phrases William has been heard to  say... “he’s got her looks thankfully” ... Kate protesting .. “No, no I don’t know about that” ... as for George’s downy hair, now turning darker ... “he’s got way more than me, thankfully” ... “he’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure” ... was a “big boy, he’s quite heavy” .... “I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s a bit older ...”

The Queen, dressed in turquoise, wore a diamond, ruby and sapphire floral brooch to the Christening given to her by her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, which marked the birth of Prince Charles in 1948.

Christening Robe ... George wore a replica of the fragile 172 year old robe, made of Honiton lace lined with satin, which has been used by royal babies since the christening of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter in 1841 ...  sixty-two christenings in all ...

 

The beautiful buttermilk
Christening Robe

The replica was commissioned by the Queen in 2008 and once made, was hand-washed in spring water and carefully stored in a cool, dark place to keep it pristine.  I see the Queen is still practising her Girl Guide motto ... ‘Be Prepared’...!

That early robe – an original Spitalfields silk-satin gown, with cap sleeves, a lace overlay and a bow at the neck was created by Janet Sutherland, a coal miner’s daughter, who was a Scottish dressmaker from Falkirk, in 1841.

George’s wardrobe ... he can count himself lucky because his royal counterparts born three centuries ago would have been fitted with baby corsets ....??

George IV born in August 1762 wore a bright red silk corset ... stiffened with a strip of whalebone down the back ...

George V wore lace-up baby boots – he was born in 1865.

Stunning cake ... bet it tasted good too!

Scrumptious tea ... with champagne ... one of the sections, probably the smallest, of his parent’s eight-tiered wedding cake ... this was hosted at Clarence House, where the official photographs were taken, by Charles and his wife, Camilla ...

A subtle transition going on as Charles takes on more duties, but the Queen, now 87, will never abdicate ... per various reports being spawned now ...

So far this new section of the royal family seem to be developing an Utopian existence ... long may it last for them, and for us ...

Visit planned to Australia and New Zealand in the new year with George most definitely going along ...

 

Salisbury - the Poultry Cross
painted by Louise Rayner, c 1870

Victoria ... what would she say – and how much has changed ... electric light, heating, aeroplane travel, cars, tarmac roads, ...

When Prince William was born in 1982 when there was no internet, no mobile-phone network, and so many other changes around the world that have occurred ... what will happen in the next 30, 50, 100 years ... into the 22^nd century of George ...

 

Loving Cup from
the Royal Shop ...
this is not tawdry tat!

X is for tat or tacky ... you can bet there will be tons of plastic rubbish sold, a few good items ... but X is for tawdry tat!

Yelling from those royal lungs was briefly on hold ... his father noted that this was the first time George had been quiet all day ..

Let the Zest of life begin that he will be able to enjoy for a while, before the reigns of duty take over ...

Prince George ... has started off life very serenely ... a peaceful, quiet, exceptionally well behaved little lad ... though I suspect in due time he will show the fun side of his character ...

... which is bound to be there as the grandson of Diana, and nephew of Harry ... let alone his parents, who enjoyed themselves at St Andrews University, where they met.  His great grandmother is known to enjoy a laugh ...

Regal calm of the future King ... as his first duty was to his 22 guests at his baptism ...  after gently waving at his great grandmother, he clasped his hands over his tummy, eyes wide open absorbing this new world around him and patiently saw his 94^th day pass serenely on ...

Whereas one (unlikely) future subject was recording the events for her blog post in the ABC mode ... when I will be past my sell-by date ... sad, but true!!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Horses - the counter balance to Monarchy ...

In this year of celebration at the Coronation of Her Majesty, the Queen, sixty years ago ... there are numerous articles, magazines, editorials, a DVD on Coronation Britain, tv programmes – various ... all to be expected as we learn the Queen counter balances matters of State by time with her horses.

The Queen riding with Ronald Reagan
in Windsor Great Park 

Princess Anne remarked her pram was an extension to the Queen’s horses ... but obviously that equine love has been imbued in the Queen’s children and grandchildren ... through their polo playing, or as with Princess Anne and her daughter through representation at the highest level, especially the Olympics.

Prince Philip too has his love of carriage driving, which over the years we have seen him compete with the Queen watching on ... their love of equestrianism has been a unifying bond for the Royal family.

 

Carriage Driving Windsor Great Park

Her knowledge of each of her thoroughbreds is prodigious, her memory of her bloodlines strong ... while she reads the Racing Post first thing in the morning ... notes are to hand when she visits her stables ...

Horses usually foal at night away from predators’ eyes, and can hold off if the weather is dreadful, as in this year ... the Queen has in total about 180 horses and ponies in her stables, of which 25 are brood mares ...

... she cares a great deal about her brood mares ... wanting to ensure that each generation is faster, fitter and happier – improving the blood line.

 

A side saddle

She loves riding and takes whatever opportunity is around ...  her 87^th birthday this year was spent with her horses, at a stable in Hampshire ... where she was making notes on the new foals ... but looking very relaxed and happy ...

... we know she’s an extremely competent rider, having seen her ride side-saddle at the Trooping of the Colour, which marks the official birthday of the British Sovereign – usually on the second Saturday in June, this year it is on the 15^th June.

 

George Stubbs' painting of 'Eclipse'
a British Thoroughbred (1764-1789)

British Kings and Queens have been breeding race horses for nearly 500 years – the thoroughbred is the fastest equine breed on the planet ...

Apparently in the Coronation year, 1953, the Queen instigated contacting Sir Gordon Richards, the very highly respected jockey, to help her understand her horses ...

... Sir Gordon introduced the “Laying on of Hands” practise to the Queen for her horses, this was not standard procedure in the 1950s ... but shows the Queen is enterprising and open-minded about the training and treatment of her horses.

 

The Queen with Monty Roberts
in 1996

Also in the 1950s she consulted a neurologist about the over-excitable thoroughbred sire,  Aureole, to help calm him, which did seem to have some effect ...

... and this thought process continued when in 1996 Monty Roberts, The Horse Whisperer, was invited to Windsor to demonstrate his ideas ... the Queen was very encouraging and they stay in contact.

The Queen ensures that in retirement her horses continue to be well looked after, and takes as much interest in their welfare at this stage ... often where the horses act as ‘nannies’ to the leading yearlings ...

Fell pony in Cumbria

The Queen has 43 British breeds based at her five stables, Windsor, Hampton Court, Hampshire, Norfolk and Balmoral ... she is an active participant in ensuring that rare breeds survive, as listed in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Highland Ponies – who round up sheep with a whistle, and are so well suited to working in the Highlands – they carry deer carcases off the hill, or trek with tourists ..

The Queen rides her Fell ponies when she’s at Windsor ... enjoying the freedom of the Great Park ... she has not retired to an armchair to consider her options!

Highland Pony Trekking

In May each year she hosts one of Britain’s most famous horse events, the Royal Windsor Horse Show, in what is effectively her back garden, The Home Park – the private estate attached to the Castle ... it is a celebration of all things equestrian ...

• Pony club games,
• Exotic breeds
• Carriage riding
• Glittering displays by the Queen’s Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment
• Rare Breeds

• The Diamond Jubilee Equestrian Pageant 2012 held on the last evening of the Horse Show brought the equestrian world to Windsor – performers from 16 countries (Inuits from Canada, cowboys from Oklahoma, presidential bodyguards from India, Cossacks from Russia and Huasos from Chile).

The advertisement this year

The Jubilee Pageant was a brilliant display of horsemanship, showmanship and discipline around the world ... it combined horses, music and dance and brought together more than 500 horses and 800 human performers.
 

According to the article in The Telegraph, although every continent will  be represented ... the quarantine regulations for horses from Africa required it would instead be represented by zebra and cattle!

Three Mares and Foals - painted by
George Stubbs in a landscape
(1763 - 1768)

The horse world has shown us a more intimate side of the Queen, and we appreciate her understanding of her horses, her connection with them ...

... horses will reflect the best in human nature:

•           if you are kind
•           if you are consistent
•           if you are disciplined
•           if you show affection

"Lath" the first thoroughbred foal, in
 1732, from the Arabian Godolphin, who
went on to be a very successful sire;
painted by James Seymour

... they will reward you ... it is not possible always to win ... but that’s not important at the end of the day ... the passion and love for her horses shows us The Queen’s human side ...

... where she enjoys the intellectual aspect of trying and testing ways to improve her horses, while the emotional element shows her passion: which has proved a healthy counter-balance to the role of Monarchy.

Full size v miniature

Her in-depth fascination for and great knowledge of the creature that is at the centre of this equestrian sport ... are both an escape and an emotional outlet.

It’s been interesting to write about the Queen and her horses, I know very little about them, cannot ride ... but when I wrote the last paragraph, I suddenly thought ...

... yes, that’s what this blog has given me ... an intellectual outlook on life, yet  that emotional release, when my mother was ill, through the great blogging community.

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Malingering not! – Winter 1962/3 - more weather stories and memories ... floods, storm surges, Dracula, Thames Barrier ...

Floods come in all shapes and sizes and from all directions ... the weather too – hot, cold, wet, dry ... nothing really changes ... the first three months of last year were so dry – if it had rained even a little early in 2012 – then the year would have taken the ‘wettest year on record award’! 

St Mary's Church, Whitby

But it didn’t ... and we had 1,291.2 mm (50.8 inches) of rain – only surpassed by the Millennium year when 1,337.3 mm (52.6 inches) fell.

Going back 100 years – the summer months of 1912 were the wettest in the meteoroligcal annals ... while on August 25^th 2012 in Norwich, Norfolk 20cm (7.9 inches) of rain fell – a downpour unmatched before or since.

Windsor, Thames
- flood engraving 1865

102 years ago – 1910 – there had been high rainfall in the Seine’s catchment area ... and Paris flooded via the overflowing sewers and subway tunnels, seeping into basements through saturated soil and drains. 

The Seine in Paris did not burst its banks, but to the east and west of the capital the hinterland was directly flooded.   Parisians had to evacuate their homes and business, making their way around the city on makeshift footbridges for the week of the major flooding ...

Walking the plank in Paris 1910

Storm surges in the North Sea have been known and experienced across Europe for years ... recently we had the North Sea Flood of 1953 which caused over 2,000 deaths in the Dutch province of Zeeland and about 50 here in the UK ...

... a storm surge generated by low pressure in the Atlantic sometimes tracks eastwards past the north of Scotland and may then be driven into the shallow waters of the North Sea.  If the surge coincides with a Spring tide, dangerously high water levels can occur.

Hamburg in 1160

Hamburg at the ‘end’ of the Elbe River – 68 miles from the North Sea at the west of Denmark – experienced, in 1962, a storm surge that spread across the North Sea affecting southeast England, Germany and southern Denmark – 318 of the 330 deaths occurred in Hamburg.

The 1953 North Sea Flood reminded the British of the previous Thames flood in London in 1928 when 14 people died ... and the issue of flood control gained prominence.

c/o BBC Science 2007: level 1 = lowest section of wall as
dictated by 1879 Flood Act; level 2 = update to Flood Act
before end of 1800s raised the wall; level 3 = 1928 flood
and subsequent 1930 Flood Act lifted defences again;
level 4 = interim addition after 1953 flood, while Thames
Barrier was built

Britain over the millennia has been tilting slowly – up in the north and west; down in the south and east – by 20 cm (8inches) per 100 years – caused by post-glacial rebound – who knew?  Well I did .. but hadn’t realised the country was rebounding!!

The Dutch opened their flood barriers (Delta works) in 1986, while the British Thames Barrier was opened in May 1984.

The Dutch barrier

About one third of the Barrier’s closures have been to alleviate fluvial flooding in the city ... where the capacity of watercourses is exceeded as a result of rainfall, or snow and ice melts (as happened in the Thames flood plain in 1963 – the pictures that kept me ‘amused’) ...

The Thames Barrier

The Royal Society of British Architects website states that ...

·        1.5% of the country is at direct flooding risk from the sea;

·        About 7 % of the country is likely to flood at least once every 100 years from rivers

·        1.7m homes and 130,000 commercial properties are at risk from river or coastal flooding ..

·        Many more properties are at risk from flash floods

A simple diagram showing
how the flood gates work
see Wiki : Thames Barrier

Back to the Thames Barrier – closures ...

Ø In the 1980s – there were 4

Ø In the 1990s – 35

Ø 75 closures in the first decade of the 21^st century

Ø 4 at the end of 2012/2013 (there’s been a lot of rain and it was a soggy Christmas!)

Each year the Environment Agency test the barrier ... and in 2012 it was scheduled to coincide with Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant ...

... this gave the Agency “a unique opportunity to test its design for a longer period than we would normally be able to”, while the stable tidal conditions that resulted on the Thames in central London really helped all those many vessels taking part ... considering the weather conditions on the day of the Pageant – that was lucky.

Newlyn looking east across to
Penzance Bay

When my mother became manager/cook of a new retirement complex in Penzance there was a small stream that ran along one boundary ... the sea must be about 100 yards away (100m) – there was a very localised deluge ... the tiny bourne rose against the incoming tide – the garden and some of the ground floor flooded.

Then when my mother had bought her hotel in Newlyn, converted it into a care home, and was wanting to expand on the tiny granite ‘level’ rock-face that the hotel/care home was originally built on ...

Nuts come in many sizes - as this one
shows on Sydney Harbour Bridge

... she was able to do it (eventually ... after much determination), but had to shore the rock-face up ... by pinning it with nuts and bolts ... ie so it wouldn’t slip down onto the houses below.

I would have said they were bigger than these used on the Sydney Harbour Bridge (to which we also have a family connection) ... and there must be at least 12 driven into the rocks, to stabilise the cliff, on which Newlyn village and the care home are built.

The fishermen in Newlyn (about one mile west of Penzance) were hugely pleased ... as they had a landmark to hone in on as they returned back to port ... yet the care home blended into the landscape perfectly.  My mother was amazing at what she achieved through her life.

View of 199 steps leading from Whitby town to
St Mary's Church and the Abbey above

However the nuts and bolts remembrance came from the fact that so many cliff-built homes have recently been undermined by the rain, bringing some crashing down onto the houses below ... particularly in areas where the geology is different – sandstone and boulder clay ... both renowned to be unstable.

The one I thought you’d all find interesting is the landslip that recently occurred at Whitby ...

Bram Stoker used the 12^th century St Mary’s Church and churchyard, next to the ruins of Whitby Abbey ... as the setting for part of his novel Dracula ... and apparently found the name Dracula at the old public library.

St Mary's Church and graveyard

The heavy rains triggered a landslide of human bones .... the Vancouver Sun article states: 

“The seaside English town that inspired blood-letting exploits of Count Dracula is now dealing with its own ghoulish horror as heavy rains swept away part of an ancient graveyard ...”

So – the classic English word – I thought I’d really covered the English weather ... but I’ve found some other bits and pieces of information and the BBC last night decided to put out 45 minutes of archived footage on the winter of 1963.

Historically for me ... this was interesting ... so I will do yet another winter weather post shortly ... and I promise come the end of the week we’ll sit quietly together celebrating Burns Night with a whisky and some haggis!!

Here are some sites that you, your children or grandchildren might find interesting:

Vancouver Sun article re Dracula ... why I had to find the information I wanted via Vancouver I'll never know ... !

British Geological Survey site - on the Whitby landslide

St Mary's Church - Sacred Destinations website 

Whitby Heritage - via Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre - has some interesting information on landslides in the area going back to the 1700s

British Meteorological Site - Education site ... severe winters

PS ... I should have said it's snowing here - lightly ... but sufficient to layer us with a winter wonderland view ... it's due to move to the north - but this lot has come in from France!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories